Single Mom Money Tips – Your Kids & Money

by | Jun 30, 2010

Single Mom Money TipsThe Single Mom Money Tips series continues with ways to involve your kids and teach them about money:

1. Involve your kids in creating and maintaining a budget. Because the older they get the more money they will want.

2. Kids should know how the money is spent so that they can be more sensitive to money limitations.

3. When kids know approximately how much money is coming in and how much has to go out to maintain a life they will be more sensitive to your role as provider.

4. Knowledge about financial obligations might encourage kids to find ways to earn money on their own.

Single Mom Money Tips – Control Spending

by | Jun 28, 2010

Single Mom Money TipsThis is the first post in the Single Mom Money Tips series. You may already know about a few of these tips but there may be many you haven’t heard of.

I hope as you read you will make a point to apply them to your life. You will see a great difference and can begin taking control of the money flowing in and out of your life. Enjoy!

1.    Develop a spending plan to avoid overspending.

2.    The word budget conjures up the feeling of restriction and lack; so I like the word spending plan.

3.    Realize that when you develop a plan you feel more in control and it’s easier to stop overspending.

4.    Think about and list everything you need, and then assign a dollar amount to each item.

5.    Look at past spending trends to get an accurate view of how much you spend for bills, food, clothing, car/ transportation, and entertainment.

6.    Review your bank account online for a ready source for seeing where your money goes.

Coupon Clipping Help for Single Moms

by | Jun 23, 2010

single mom couponingA few articles ago I told you my apprehension about taking up the coupon challenge. I was concerned about the time it would take to collect and clip coupons. But I got to thinking about ways to overcome this hurdle. Surely there had to be someone who could clip al those coupons for me!

Well I was right. There are plenty of people who can help me though coupon clipping services. I started my search in Google of course, then I visited forums to see what company others were recommending.

Next I investigated how much it would cost to hire someone to clip coupons for me. I was happy to learn it would not cost an arm and leg. In fact it would be very reasonable to hire out this task. At some point I’ll dive deeper into this concept and show you don’t have to do everything yourself.

I found two site that gave me the information I was looking for. I wanted two things in addition to the coupon clipping service. The first was free shipping and the second was whole inserts.

One clipping services offers free shipping as part of their service. This is very good for me and their prices are very reasonable; just a few cents per coupon. Since they are so cheap I can order several of the same coupons to facilitate my stockpiling.

The reason I wanted whole inserts is because, as a beginner, I didn’t collect coupon inserts before. This meant I would only be able to take advantage of just a few sales as most of the deals required coupons from several weeks ago. Purchasing several inserts from past weeks would put me on the fast track in the game.

My source for coupon inserts charges a reasonable price and ships quickly. I got my package in two days, just in time for my first coupon grocery shopping trip.

If you don’t have the time or don’t want to clip coupons you can use a coupon clipping service. This is especially helpful for single moms who want to take advantage of using coupons to save up 50% or more on their grocery bills.

Favorite Coupon Resources for Single Moms

by | Jun 22, 2010

single mom couponingLearning about using coupons is an eye opening experience. I can’t remember how I got started but since then I have found many websites, blogs, and resources to help me through this journey.

The first blog I visited is 918CouponQueen.com. This lady has her stuff together and regularly appears on her local television station to talk about how to save money using coupons. She also has a forum where members can contribute their tips, deals they’ve found, and general knowledge.

The next website I found is TheGroceryGame.com. This site is a service that aggregates several grocery store databases and tells you what to buy with the coupons you’ve amassed. The service does all the work for you with the exception of clipping the coupons (I’ll share how you can get that done in another article).

One of the newer sites I’ve come across is TheCouponMom.com. I’m kind of partial to this site because she lives in my state and has great videos about how to use coupons. This site has a grocery store database for each state and tells you what coupons to use. The best thing about this site is once you’ve checked off the items you will purchase it shows you the percentage you will save and the amount you will spend!

These three sites are just a handful of what’s on the web. They as well as other sources of coupons make getting into the coupon game pretty easy.

There may be times when you may not be able to get a newspaper for the coupon inserts. No worries though because you can clip coupons online. The main site for coupons is Coupons.com. This site requires you to download a small application to be able to print but it is worth it. Smartsource.com and Redplum.com are two more coupon site to get what you need.

Single Mom Advice: How to Make Cash Quickly

Single Mom Advice: How to Make Cash Quickly

by | Jun 18, 2010

Recently I received a letter from a mom whose ex-husband lost his job and probably won’t have money to pay child support for a while. Her hours at work were reduced and she is scrambling to find a way to make cash quickly or start a side business to supplement her income.

She asked for my advice so this post will serve to answer her question.

I dug through the Rich Single Momma archives and found 9 articles that speak to her question. There are over 15 ways listed within these articles for this single mom to begin making extra money today.

Sell Possessions to Make Cash Quickly

To sum the articles she can begin by selling some of her possessions, like a diamond engagement ring, either through the local classified ad, through craigslist, or at the local pawn shop. Having a yard sale (especially during this time of year) is also a very good option.

Sites like Worthy.com is a great place to sell diamond engagement rings or wedding rings that you have in your jewelry box. You will get more money when you sell your ring on this site because the ring is appraised and diamond dealers from around the globe bid on it. So in essence people are bidding on your ring.

Cook or Bake to Make Cash Quickly

If she has cooking and/or baking skills she can buy some ingredients to make cakes, cookies, or whatever her specialty item is and sell them to the neighbors and co-workers. If she makes up some samples to give away she could get pre-orders.

Use Everyday Skills to Make Cash Quickly

If cooking is not her thing, she could use her everyday skills to make extra money. Many people learn basic typing and computer skills and perhaps have had a class in using Windows or Adobe Photoshop in school. Technology becomes more and more advanced each year, delivering information to our fingertips, enabling us to learn new skills.

These resources could be used to make extra cash with necessary tasks such as filing taxes with TurboTax or logging accounts with Quicken. A lot of the usual clerical skills are now learned in grade school and can be useful in small self-employment opportunities. There are a variety of resources available on the web that could enhance your knowledge of these easy to use skills and help you earn an income.

The Biggest Reason We Fail

The biggest issue many people have is fear of their plan failing. They are afraid to try because it might not work. This is a very valid fear. When I first started making money on the side I was not all that confident.

I tested things out first to see if there was any interest. The way most products or services sell is through word of mouth or recommendations. People do it every day. A friend or family member has a good experience with a product or service and they tell someone else.

Spread the Word to Make Cash Quickly

The key is to begin telling people about what you are offering. If you are giving samples of food it should be fairly easy to get things going. If people are asking you for certain things all the time it may be a clue that what you have to offer is or can be in demand.

First Things First to Make Cash Quickly

If this single mom is in desperate need of money then I suggest she begin selling possessions first. It can be books, popular DVDs, small electronic items, instruments, clothing, furniture, or other valuables. Selling her gold jewelry is also a very good way to get a good amount of money fast.

These tips will help this single mom make money quickly. She doesn’t have to struggle or be afraid there are no options for her. The reality is there are many ways to make extra money in a short period of time.

Below are links to the archived articles on what I like to call side hustles or how to make extra money.

Make Money Ironing and Mending
Make Money Renting Your Space
Make Money Baking
Make Money Through Temp Work
Make Money Side Hustling
Make Money Selling Your Stuff
Make Money with Your Change
Make Money the Quick and Easy Way

I hope you enjoyed reading How to Make Cash Quickly.

Do you have any specific questions you’d like to ask me about making extra money or how to reduce your stress as a single mom? Send me an email to samantha at richsinglemomma.com or simply leave a comment below.